Council reassures public ahead of recycling fines and warden introduction

Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter

People who put “one tin can” in the wrong recycling container have no reason to fear being fined, it has been claimed. 

A new drive on enforcing rules around household rubbish and recycling – and issuing fixed penalty fines to those failing to follow them – will be launched in Torfaen from April 1 next year. Four newly recruited household waste wardens could patrol 1,000 homes across the borough every week. 

The Labour controlled borough council is spending £227,075 in the upcoming financial year on the campaign including the recruitment of household waste wardens, officially titled “education and engagement officers” and a new education and engagement manager to be based at the Civic Centre.

Funding

Cash from the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund will be used in February and March 2025 to run an awareness campaign in the run up to the enforcement drive so residents are clear on how to recycle and how waste should be presented at the kerbside. 

The action is intended to ensure the council can meet a target that 70 per cent of waste, including food waste sent for composting, is recycled. It hopes reduced costs for waste disposal, due to an increase in recycling, will offset the cost of the new enforcement regime. 

Torfaen achieved the 64 per cent recycling target in 2023/24 but had missed it in the two proceeding years. That prompted a proposal to collect non recyclable waste, in wheelie bins, just once every three weeks but a public backlash prompted a new drive to boost recycling instead. 

Council leader Anthony Hunt said he was encouraged the council’s consultation had shown 56 per cent of residents in favour of enforcement action against those who fail to recycle. 

He said it is frustrating for people “who do their bit to see others on their street not bothering.”

Duty

The Panteg councillor also told the cabinet he supported the approach of explaining and educating residents before taking action and said: “That shows we will bend over backwards but at the end of the day we’ve got a duty to those who are doing their best. 

“I’ve seen in other areas, where they’ve had enforcement policies, you get people saying all I did was put one tin can in my bins and now they’re fining me, that’s not what will happen. Much in the way when the police stop people they say ‘I’ve only had a pint officer, honest’. Sometimes that can’t be taken at face value. We will go through all those steps to engage, remind people, issue the notice before the last resort of a fixed penalty notice.” 

The council’s director, Mark Thomas, who had outlined the four stage process to issuing a fixed penalty fine, said there will be a disputes process for those who feel “hard done by, or we’ve been unfair”.  

He warned against an overzealous approach and said: “With civil parking enforcement a very robust commercial approach was taken and councils had to change their approach. We’re very keen not to repeat those mistakes.”

Campaign

Cllr Sue Morgan, who is responsible for waste, said Torfaen is following a “Keeping Up With the Jones’s” campaign aimed at educating residents on rules and responsibilities which has proved successful in Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil. 

She said those had shown only a “very low number” of fixed penalty notices being issued, which a report said could be just two per cent based on 1,000 initial letters being sent to households reminding them of the rules. 

The report didn’t set out the amount any fine for failing to follow waste and recyling rules would be and the council has only said if residents are unable to comply “due to mental or physical disability” it will be taken into account.